大学英语写作论文.docx

大学英语写作论文.docx

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大学英语写作论文

20050614068耿立品05本2

Whatarethemostimportantculturedifferencesandelementsofinterculturalcommunication

Asweallknow,differentcountrieshavedifferentcultures.Cultureisthecollectiveprogrammingofthemindwhichdistinguishesthemembersofonecategoryofpeoplefromanother.（Hofstede,1991）Itisinevitablethattheculturaldifferencehasimpactonbusiness.Forexample,whenacompanyhavingmeeting,thewordtableinAmericanEnglishthatmeanstoputsomethingontheagenda.ButinBritishEnglishitmeanstoputsomethingofftheagenda.Thisexampleindicatedhowthecultureaffectsthebusiness.TherearefourculturaldimensionsthatweredefinedinHofstedesresearch:

Powerdistance,Uncertaintyavoidance,Individualism,Masculinity,andrecentlyHofstedeaddonemore:

long-term-short-termorientation.WhatIthinkthemostsignificantinfluenceinculturaldifferenceisthepowerdistance.（Hoecklin,1995:

28）Itwouldconditiontheextenttowhichemployeesacceptthattheirbosshasmorepowerthantheyhaveandtheextenttowhichtheyacceptthattheirbosssopinionsanddecisionsarerightbecauseheorsheistheboss.Iconsidereditashowmuchsubordinatescanconsentordissentwithbossesormanagers.Itisthedistancebetweenamanagerandsubordinate.Amongmostorientalcorporatecultures,thereishierarchism,greatercentralization,sometimescalledpower-orientedculture,duetothehistoricalreasons.Thatisahighpowerdistanceculturethatmangersmakethedecisionandsuperiorsappealtobeentitledmoreprivileges.Theirdecisionalwaysclosesupervisionpositivelyevaluatedbysubordinates.Inthissituation,itisnotberegardedifasubordinateshaveadisagreementwiththeirmanagers,especiallyinMalaysia,Japan,China,India.Intheoriental,powerdistanceisalsoassociatedwiththefamilyculture（Trompernaars,1993:

139）.Inthiskindofcorporateculturethemanagerislikethecaringfatherwhoknowsbetterthanhissubordinateswhatshouldbedoneandwhatissuitableforthem.Thesubordinatesalwaysesteemthemanagers.Becauseofthemanagersageandexperience.Thatisusuallyhowemployeesgettheirpromotion.Therearebothpositiveandnegativepartsinthefamilycultures.Ifeelitisaneasymanagingsystem.Butsometimeitishardtogetyoungcreativeemployeesworkwellcauseofthehierarchy.AsTropmenaars（1993:

142）toldusfamilycultureattheirleasteffectivedraintheenergiesandloyaltiesofsubordinatestobuoyuptheleader.Soinfamilyculture,thepowerdistancecanbeviewedasthesubordinatesrespectthesuperiors.Thatisthecorporatecultureinorient.Letustakealookatthewesternway.Itisnotawholeconversephenomenon.ThereistheEiffelTowerculture（Trompernaars,1997:

166）intheinternationalmanagement.AbouttheEiffeltowerTrompenaars（1993:

148）toldusItshierarchyisverydifferentfromthatofthefamily.Eachhigherlevelhasaclearanddemonstrablefunctionofholdingtogetherthelevelbeneathit.German,AustrianhavethecharacteristicoftheEiffelTowerCulture,whichisalowpowerdistance.Inthelowerpowerdistance,（Hoecklin,1995:

31）higher-educatedemployeesholdmuchlessauthoritarianvaluesthanlower-educatedones.Theobedienceshowedfromthesubordinatestothesuperiorsisnotasmuchastheorientalway.Theleadershipcanbecalledashierarchyandconsensus.Employeecanhavedifferentopinionwithhis/herboss.Andwhenhe/shegotdifferentideas,he/shecangoallthewayuptothebossanddiscusstheproblem.Thisisagoodthingusuallycompanymayexploreallthepotentialsofitsemployees,becausesometimethesubordinatesmayhavethebetterideaofthebusiness.Ithinkbecauseofthedifferentrealizationofpowerdistance,peoplebehavecompletelydifferentinbusiness.Soconflictandmisunderstandingmustbeemergedwhentwoormoreinterculturesmeetup.Underthissituation,theinternationalmanagersmustpayattentiontotheclashesandbeawareof.Howtoworkthesubordinatestogetherefficientlyandmorecooperativelyisimportanttoo.Andthenthereisalsoalargediscrepancyontheuncertaintyavoidance.（Hoecklin,1995:

31）definedUncertaintyavoidanceisthelackoftoleranceforambiguityandtheneedforformalrules.Thatmeanspeopletryingtosetuprulestofacetotheuncertainty.ThereishighuncertaintyavoidanceinmostorientalcountriessuchasJapan,China.Inthesecountries,peoplepreferastablejob.Theyfeelsafeandpridefulwhentheykeepworkinghardattheoneplace.Underthiscircumstance,anexcellentmanagershouldkeephisemployeeawayfromunpredictablerisk.Andtheemployeewouldliketobeworkedwithingroupsratherthanindependentlycauseofthelessrisk-taking.Butinmostwesterncountries,thereislowuncertaintyavoidanceshowed,whereashighjobmobilityoccursinthosecountriessuchasUSA,Denmark,Singapore.Thewesternpeoplethinkthatwhentheychangetheirjobs,theycangetmoreexperiencecausetheylikechallenge.Ibelievethatthedivergenceoftheuncertaintyavoidanceisfromdifferentbasicsocialideology.Acompetentmanagershouldpayattentionontherulessettingbetweendifferentuncertaintyavoidance.Themisreadingofthatmayaffecttheinitiativeandtheaspirationofthesubordinates.ThethirddimensionHofstedeindicatedistheindividualism.Itisaconcernforyourselfasanindividualasopposedtoconcernforthegroup.Thepriorityofself-concernorgroup-concernvariesfromdifferentcultures.Forexample,mostwesternemployeesliketoworkwiththeirownplanfordefendingtheirinterest.Thatisahighindividualism.Becauseofthedifferentattitudetowork,theincubatorculture（Trompernaars,1997:

175）ariseswhencross-culturalindividualsworktogetherasagroup.Trompenaars（1993:

158）toldustheincubatorisbothpersonalandegalitarian.Peopledonotcooperateatall.Theyjustsimplyworkintheirownways,followtheirownrules,andachievetheirownobjective.Theydonotliketobeinterferedbyothers.Itisgoodforacompanytogatherasmuchideasastheycanwhenstartinganewprogram.Buthowtomanagetheseindividualstoreachthegroupgoalshouldbetheawarenessformanagers.Ithinkwhoisgoodatthisshouldbegoodatgrouping,troubleshooting,andcoordinatingskills.FinallyHofstedpointedoutthemasculinity.Thatisaboutthesexualinequality.AccordingtoHofstedesdefinitions,masculinesocietiesdefinegenderrolesmorerigidlythanfemininesocieties.Inbusiness,managersshouldtakeabigconcernofthetreatmenttodifferentsexunderdifferentculturalinfluence.Intodaysworld,becauseofthemasculinevalueandpointofview,malestakemostseniormanagingpositions.Butaexperiencedmanagersupposeknewthatitisharmoniousthatmenworkwithwomensincewomensometimesaremoresensitive.Therefore,howtobalancethemasculinity/femininityfromdifferentcultureandbackgroundinordertomaximizetheteampowerisworthconsideringbymanagers.Theabovefourdimensionsilluminatedthemostimportantculturaldifferencesthataffectonbusiness.Internationalmanagersshouldbeabletoawarenotonlytheculturaldifferencebutalsotheinterculturalcommunication.GudykunstandKim（1992:

13-14）classifyinterculturalcommunicationasatransactional,symbolicprocessinvolvingtheattributionofmeaningbetweenpeoplefromdifferentcultures.Differentnationsusedifferentlanguages,sotherewillbelossormisunderstandingduringinterpreting.Andinsomeculture,peopleuseimplicitwordsmorethanothers,likeChina.Thus,thenon-verbalcommunicationisimportant,especiallythesceniccommunication.Itincludesgestures,bodylanguage,eyecontacting.Themorescenicpartincommunication,theharderforpeopletotransmitandreceiveinformation.Anotherpartistheconceptoftime.Fromthat,punctualityisthesamebutreflectsdifferentreality.Weallknowtimeismoney.Butwhenthereisaconference,theGermanusuallypresents5minutesbeforethestart.Spanishwillbelatefor15minutes.Butintheirmindtheyarebothontime.Thatissomethingthatmanagersshouldunderstand.Inmymind,thereisanotheraspectoftime,calledtheuseoftime.TheAmericanandNorthernEuropeanhavealineartimeconcept.ThesesocietiesarereferredtoasTime-Boundsocieties.SouthernEuropeansandArabsregardtimeinalinearwaybutmorethingstheycandoorhandleatthesametime.Thatcanbecalledmulti-activetime.AndthenthereistheAsianviewoftime,cyclicaltime.Asianthinkstimewillcomearoundagainwhenitpassaway,alsotheopportunitiesandrisks.Besidestheabovethreeaspectsofcommunications,thereleftthespace.Itisabigconcernofininterculturalcommunications.Whenyouhaveaconversationwithaforeignbusinesspartner,thespacebetweenyouandhimarereferredtothepersonalboundaryofeveryculture.Ignoranceofspacecanbeleadtorealbadimpressionfromotherside.Thelastbutnottheleast,Iwouldliketotalksomethingaboutthecross-culturenegotiationIresearched.Negotiationisacoursethatatleasttwogroupsofpeopletryingtoreachanagreementwiththeothersfortheirownbenefit.Therearetwothingsinnegotiation:

thetopicandthecourse.Duringcross-culturenegotiation,thecourseisthecrucialobstruction.Differentnegotiationwaysareproducedbydifferentcultures.Underthiscircumstance,thereisaclassicstandpointofprocedures:

exploringwithnoobjective,taskoriented,persuadingperiod,andsigncontract.Internationalmanagersshouldbeawareofeveryprocedure.Andduringeachprocedure,thestrategy,technique,substance,time,sequenceandthefocalpointaredifferent.Inthisessay,Iwroteaboutth